European Commission Issues Preliminary Findings Against Meta Over Platform Design

The European Commission issued preliminary findings on July 10 accusing Meta of breaching the Digital Services Act by designing Facebook and Instagram to promote addictive use. The commission identified infinite scrolling, autoplay of videos, personalized recommendations, and push notifications as features that create an endless stream of content.

It stated that these elements place users' brains on autopilot and fuel compulsive behavior.

The commission demanded that Meta disable key addictive features so they are not turned on by default and change the content recommendation system to reduce engagement focus. It also called for better tools to encourage screen time breaks. The commission found that Meta failed to properly assess risks its design features pose to users' physical and mental health, including minors.

Existing screen time controls are easily overridden or dismissed and require too much technical expertise from parents to produce meaningful reductions in use, the findings stated. Meta faces potential fines of up to 6 percent of its global annual revenue if the findings are confirmed in a final decision. The company has the opportunity to respond before that decision is issued.

Meta said the preliminary findings do not recognize steps the company has already taken to protect teens. Since the investigation began in 2024, Meta has rolled out Teen Accounts that automatically protect teens and allow parents to block access to Instagram at night and cap daily screen time at 15 minutes.

"We share the European Commission's commitment to providing teens with safe, positive online experiences and will continue to engage constructively with them," Meta said in a prepared statement.

Henna Virkkunen, executive vice-president at the European Commission overseeing tech, said protecting the physical and mental health of Europeans must be a priority for social media platforms. Earlier in 2026 the EU said Meta had failed to prevent children under 13 from signing up for Facebook and Instagram and was not doing enough to identify and remove underage users after they opened accounts.